


The Dress

by biowhathaveyoudone



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-15
Updated: 2015-05-15
Packaged: 2018-03-30 14:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3940612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biowhathaveyoudone/pseuds/biowhathaveyoudone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leliana and Josephine plot to get the Inquisitor into a dress for Celine's ball and an unknowing Commander strikes the final blow in favor of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dress

Deanna glanced up briefly from the reports on her desk at the faint knock.

“It’s open,” she called before turning her attention back to a notice from Leliana about a particular concentration of Red Templars outside Crestwood. It didn’t make any sense. The area was clear of rifts. Were they trying to recapture that area of red lyrium in the hills? She was pulled from her thoughts by a soft ‘thunk’. She looked up to see Leliana and Josephine standing by a large trunk, the two soldiers who had carried it up already disappearing back down the stairs.

“No,” she said immediately, standing. Leliana grinned.

“We haven’t even said why we’re here,” protested Josephine.

“You want to put me in a dress for Celine’s ball,” Deanna replied, her eyes narrowing as she folded her arms. “We are going there to stop an assassin.”

“You are a mage,” said Leliana simply. “You have been wearing robes most your life. It is not that different.”

“And as the Inquisitor, you would make much more of a positive statement to arrive at the ball in a gown that is the height of fashionable,” said Josephine. “You should not underestimate how much looks will count in Orlais and in The Game.” Deanna paused, searching for another reason.

“Wouldn’t it look better if we all arrive in the same thing? A united front for the Inquisition. What’s wrong with the dress suit?” Leliana’s grin widened and Josephine began smiling as well. Deanna almost winced as she realized she had been caught.

“You are the face of the Inquisition,” said Josephine. “As perfectly fine as the dress suits are, we can make a much larger statement this way. Perhaps even gain some more support outside of stopping the assassination.”

“Of course you are right about the united front, it shall just be in support of you, our Inquisitor,” put in Leliana. Deanna sighed. She couldn’t argue with their logic. The little she had learned of politics as a Trevelyan as well as her studies after becoming Inquisitor telling her very well how much appearances mattered. She wondered briefly if she could stay with the dress suit if she made a big enough stink, but even the possibility of more support for the Inquisition was enough for her to push the idea aside.

“Very well,” she said, sighing again.

“Excellent,” said Josephine, signaling down the stairs. More soldiers appeared. Deanna blinked. By the time the train stopped, three more trunks of varying sizes were sitting on the floor.

“How long have you been planning this?” she asked suspiciously. Leliana laughed.

“Come. It will be fun.” An unusually chipper spymaster. Fun.

_Sure it will be…_

* * *

 

Deanna immediately vetoed the first two dresses Josephine and Leliana pulled from the trunk. Far too overwrought and involved.

“Well at least we know she wants something simple,” said Josephine as she and Leliana exchanged a look.

“Just do her hair Josie,” said Leliana.

“What?” said Deanna. “My hair?”

“We must perfect this look now Inquisitor,” said Josephine even as she hurried over to pull the chair out from Deanna’s desk. “It will make everything easier for when we set out to Halamshiral. Ugh, no Leliana. That brocade hasn’t been in style for months.”

“What?” said Deanna again, trying to crane her head around to see what they were addressing.

“Please keep your head still Lady Trevelyan,” said Josephine, her hands guiding Deanna’s head straight forward before pulling the tie of her ponytail, letting the hair fall down. “Surely you are used to this as a noble?”

“My magic appeared before I even turned 8,” replied Deanna as Josephine began brushing her hair. She had the distinct feeling this was something Josie had done a lot of in the past because even when the brush found snags, Deanna felt practically nothing. “Not a lot of time to be dressed up to go to balls.”

“I suppose it is a bit much then,” said Josephine sympathetically. “But trust me, it is quite enjoyable. Leliana, absolutely not.”

“Josie, where’s your boldness? Surely this will make a statement.”

“On you, yes. Not on the Inquisitor.”

“I suppose you have a point,” sighed Leliana and it sounded almost wistful. Deanna was very unsure of how to feel about this side of her Spymaster. It didn’t help she was already uneasy about this whole thing. So she shut her eyes and instead focused on what Josephine was doing to her hair.

After Josephine finished brushing it, she massaged in some sort of cream. After her hair was thoroughly coated, the Ambassador began working with groups of hair. It was more relaxing than Deanna had expected, and focusing on the feeling of what was happening with her hair allowed her to block out the back and forth between Leliana and Josephine about different colors, fabrics, embroidery, it never seemed to end. Deanna didn’t even question when Josephine moved from her hair to her face. It seemed to go without saying that with her hair, came makeup. Unfortunately, this did not take very long to complete. Even more unfortunately, she was pulled out of her chair and turned to reveal an absolute sea of dresses draped over every surface in her room.

“So down to the simple strapless then?” asked Josephine as she moved over to Leliana who was still pulling dresses out of trunks.

“No.” Both Leliana and Josephine looked back over at her. She had practically yelled it. She stared back. She refused to move on this. No. She would not wear that and have her back out for all to see, for all to stare, to know what had happened. But before she could repeat herself, Leliana spoke.

“Inquisitor, I’ve had a special drape of sorts made. It attaches into your hair and will cover all of your back that’s exposed while still being delightfully fashionable.” Josephine looked slightly confused, before turning back to the dresses, smart enough to know when not to intrude. Deanna let out a long breath before nodding.

“Thank you.” Despite the fact that Leliana having this drape made meant that she and Josephine had been planning this for a long time, Deanna was grateful to the Spymaster. Just because she had come to terms with what had happened didn’t mean she would ever be comfortable putting the scars, the reminders on display.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Josephine and Leliana approached with different pairs of shoes in their hands. The next half an hour, she put on and removed countless pairs of shoes until they had settled on a pale gold pair that ribboned up her half her leg. The shoes themselves sparkled faintly and had jewels decorating the length of the, in her opinion, excessively long heels. It was actually one of the more subtle pairs of shoes she had been made to try on.

“What does it matter? All these gowns are floor length,” said Deanna. Both Leliana and Josephine laughed.

“Orlesians,” sighed Deanna, eyeing the shoes.

“Come now Inquisitor, they are very cute,” said Leliana with a smile. “Now. The dresses. Off with the clothes and the breast band.”

“I couldn’t have taken the pants off before you put me in these shoes?” sighed Deanna, leaning against her desk to try and pull off her pants, which they had rolled up to properly try on the shoes. In the end, she got annoyed and yanked the pants off, leaving them in a tangled mess on the floor. The shirt and breast band followed. She was almost immediately thrown into the first dress. Josephine studied and ran to find the next dress while Leliana moved around, lacing and fastening what needed to be, if they even let the dress on her that long. Some were barely over her head before they were denied as a choice and off they came. Finally, they came to one that had both Leliana and Josephine pausing.

“It is quite simple,” said Josephine. Deanna frowned and made to pull up the bodice.

“It’s very revealing.” Leliana casually slapped her hands away.

“Less so than you think. You’ll see. This is the one.” Deanna sighed, shifting her weight to one side and remembered very abruptly she was still wearing those damned shoes. Josephine was already moving to a smaller chest and as she opened it, Deanna could see the glitter of jewels and silver. Leliana picked up a rather beautiful piece of gold fabric and moved around back of Deanna who realized it was the drape she had spoken of earlier. Her thoughts quickly moved back to her feet.

“How am I supposed to walk let alone fight in these?” she demanded as her arches screamed at her.

“You shall need to practice, of course,” replied Leliana distractedly as she delicately inserted the pins of the drape into Deanna’s hair.

“Of course,” muttered Deanna to herself.

“Oh and you  _must_  be able to dance. We shall set up lessons,” put in Josephine.

“I know how to dance.”

“Dancing and dancing in Orlesian shoes are two  _very_  different things,” Josephine replied solemnly. Deanna didn’t stifle the groan. The drape properly attached and adjusted, her advisors moved to jewelry and gloves. Deanna was quickly growing tired of it all and stopped paying attention, instead morosely focusing on the ache in her feet. She was pleasantly surprised when they settled, not on fabric gloves, but this fantastic metal-work sleeve of sorts. There was a bracelet around her right wrist and a beautiful net of silver wove around gemstones and fastened to a ring around her middle finger. As it worked its way up her arm it expanded out in a fascinating circle pattern that both reminded her of chainmail and ripples at the same time. It expanded out from covering just the top portion of her arm to all the way around her  arm at a single point halfway up her forearm before tapering back to just the top part of her arm where it ended in a filigreed band that fastened around her elbow. On her left arm, a matching silver band was placed around her bicep. The necklace was again matching in the same silver metal with etched whorls and patterns, though she couldn’t really call it a necklace. It clasped around her neck, too wide to give the impression of a choker or band. It was as if her dress had once had a collar and the fabric between the bodice and collar had been removed. Tiny gems trailed from the very center of it on thin links of silver that stopped just above where her breasts began to swell outwards.

Now, it seemed, all that was left was finishing touches. As Deanna twisted her right arm around to watch how the metal slithered across her skin and glittered in the sunlight, Leliana and Josephine moved around, fluffing the skirt, adjusting the ribbons at the back of the bodice. They both ended up in front of her.

“We are  _very_  good,” said Leliana as she stepped back to study her.

“Of course we are,” replied Josephine as she stepped back as well and nodding, they turned Deanna towards the mirror.

She blinked once. Then again.

“Oh…” she breathed. Her hair shone like she had never seen it. Whatever cream Josephine had used, not only had brought out the shine, but had her hair curling in large curls. A strand lay loose against her left cheek while the rest had been brought up together at the top of her head before tumbling down the sides and back of her head. The gold drape that Leliana had clipped into her hair wasn’t heavy at all and had an off white lace on the side of the fabric that lay against her skin. As she moved her head and the fabric moved and billowed, the lace appeared and disappeared teasingly. The drape did indeed cover the exposed skin and scars along her shoulder blades and more, falling about midway down her back. Her eyes were smoky, alluring. There was a deftness of touch she had never acquired in applying her own makeup. There was little color on her cheekbones, just enough to soften her face. Her lips were a deep red, and she saw it matched the red of the skirt. The next moment, she realized the color was almost a sister to the bright red of the dress suits the rest of the Inquisition would wear. But the dress… oh, the dress. The bodice was as tight as she assumed, hugged her curves like a lover and also emphasized them. It was a pale gold with sequins worked into patterns that flowed with her body, exaggerating what was already there. Her breasts were pushed up and together, the bodice working like a corset in that area and cut down sharply between her breasts, the line of the top of the bodice like a heart. Scalloped lace followed that line in a blue that matched perfectly with the sashes on the Inquisition’s dress suits. As low cut as the bodice was, the lace did help, though never took away from her assets there. Ribbons laced back and forth across the back of the bodice. Though she couldn’t see them, she had felt Leliana deftly lace and tie them. The bodice ended just as her hips began and exploded into the full dark red skirt. She twisted slightly and saw immediately it moved with her in a distinctly alluring way. Both the red and the pale gold looked gorgeous against her darker skin and surprisingly the silver of the jewelry didn’t clash with the gold. The jewelry was what made the look. There was no mistaking her for a simple noble. Here was a warrior. Here was the Inquisitor.

She was alluring yet powerful. Beautiful yet dangerous. Someone to fear. Someone to look up to. Someone to respect.

“Oh…” she said again. Yes. She could go to the ball in this.

“And you doubted us,” teased Josephine, almost bouncing in her excitement.

“Now, now Josie,” laughed Leliana. “I don’t think it will happen again.”

“I thought…” said Deanna, still dumbstruck at how she looked.

“Of course we wouldn’t put you in something that didn’t work for you, or you couldn’t move in,” said Josephine.

“We will be there to stop an assassin after all,” said Leliana with a grin, repeating Deanna’s words spoken hours earlier.

“I…” started Deanna, but a voice called up the stairs.

“Sister Nightingale?” Deanna’s eyes widened. Cullen.

“You can come up Commander,” replied Leliana. “What did you need?” Before Deanna could even think, Cullen was climbing the stairs.

“Have you received any more information about the situation in…?” He made an odd strangled noise as he looked up and saw Deanna. His eyes widened and slowly, as he looked at her, his jaw dropped. She couldn’t move as his eyes moved up and down, taking her in. Josephine coughed quietly, turning away to hide the smile on her face and the Commander just about jumped, his eyes flying all around the room as he stammered nonsense syllables.

“Lady Deanna… Trevelyan… Inquisitor,” stammered Cullen, ever more flustered by his mistitling. His eyes finally landed on a point over her left shoulder. “Excuse me. I-I… I simply needed Leliana’s… um…” He steadfastedly stared at that point in space, refusing to make eye contact or look at her at all.

“The Crestwood report on the Red Templars?” offered Deanna faintly, unsure of how she had even remembered the report with how her heart was beating so fast in her ears.

“Yes!” he cried gratefully, his eyes moving to her. The very next second, they flew away again and his ears began to turn pink. Warmth bloomed in Deanna’s chest and a small smile spread across her face. Hiding laughter, Leliana stepped forward.

“What did you need Commander? Shall we discuss it in the hall?” He nodded quickly, turning on his heel.

“I take it that Josie and I have done a fine job with the Inquisitor’s ball gown?” she asked.

“Maker, yes,” he replied fervently before flinching visibly at his misstep and almost fleeing down the stairs. The Spymaster’s face was entirely filled with a bright smile and laughter danced in her eyes as she followed the Commander.

“Well,” said Josephine with a grin as wide as Leliana’s on her face. “Any more misgivings?”

“No.” Josephine laughed.

“Very good. Is this what you will be wearing to Halamshiral?”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

“Well if that is how the Commander reacted, I think we have a very good chance at coming out of this with many gains,” said Josephine with a smile. Deanna blushed fiercely and looked away from the knowing Ambassador to look at herself in the mirror again. She realized distantly something had changed in the last few moments. And though there was too many other things more important to worry about, she knew one thing at least.

She had never felt more beautiful in her life.


End file.
